Electric Automobiles

C.W. Andreasen – rev 09.07.23

There is no such thing as “free”!

At the time of this writing, the current government is trying to force people off of petrolatum based fuels, and to switch to electric automobiles. The argument is that cars produce pollution that is harming the atmosphere. We are being pushed into buying electric cars that run on rechargeable batteries. The proposed solution is to abandon petrolatum products and go electric.

Let me say up front that I like the idea of electric cars. I must also point out that modern cars do not give off so much pollution that nature cannot handle it. We put more Carbon Dioxide into the air, the algae in the ocean expands and takes in the gas from the air, and releases the Oxygen back into the air. The Earth stays in balance.

It takes a given amount of energy to move the automobile. The energy has to come from somewhere. If all vehicles were electric the electric grid would need additional power plants to meet the demand. What fuels these power plants? It is mostly petrolatum products which produce the same pollution as the gasoline automobile! Basically power plants are powered in different ways, from Coal, Natural Gas, Oil, Nuclear, Wind, Sun, Water and some Geothermal sources. Some fuels like Coal produce more pollution than the cars, others like Solar and Wind produce no pollution but are unreliable because the source is not reliable. No wind, cloudy days, night, all of this makes these sources of power intermittent. Water is best and produces no pollution but we cannot begin to build enough lakes and dams to meet the current needs, much less the expanded needs. Nuclear power plants produce the most dangerous pollution in the form of spent fuel that must be stored somewhere for thousands of years (in practical terms spent fuel must be safely stored FOREVER).

Another problem with the electric automobile; it requires expensive batteries that are relatively short lived and the material required to make the batteries must come from mining operations that stupid environmentalist are trying to close down.

It is, as I said, there is no such thing as free. It takes a certain amount of energy to run an automobile, no matter where the energy comes from, and it must come from somewhere. Shifting from petrolatum to electricity sounds good but it is like taking money out of one pocket and putting it in a different pocket, there is no net gain. You might think you save money not buying gasoline, but guess what; this has been noted by government who is losing the tax income from the excessive gasoline taxes... and so far at the time of this writing, already three states are in the process of switching over to a new tax… called a road usage tax. A device is put in the vehicle that records every mile driven and the car gets billed by the mile. In some states the taxes on gasoline are about one half of the gasoline price

As to mining, the electric car is full of plastic (petrolatum based), electrical wiring (copper mines), Steel (iron mines) and high capacity batteries that are based on rare metals that must be mined. Almost everything in civilization is at least partially based on petrolatum. Just one example is plastic, there would be no plastic without petrolatum. Many chemicals are extracted from petrolatum.

IF it were possible to not use petrolatum and close the mines, we would be back on the farm with horses for power and transportation. Civilization as we know it could not exist. Electricity is not an answer because the generators use large amounts of copper and iron that first must be mined and processed. Everything we have was once alive, or mined/pumped from the ground.

In my mind I imagain service trucks with a big generator, to go rescue people who have run out of battery and are stuck. The highway service truck could charge the batteries enough to get the car off the highway and to a charging station. If the power goes down, how does one charge the batteries?

This push for electric cars is a fools errand. We are told to minimize use of our air conditioner to take the load off the electrical grid and at the same time to get an electric car that greatly increases the need for electricity… go figure.

Late add-on Note:

Auto batteries must be replaced maybe several times during the life of an electric vehicle. It is very expensive and the retired batteries must be recycled. Making new batteries requires rare earth minerals that are mostly purchased from China and South America. The batteries must be recycled, they cannot just be thrown away. These batteries sometimes catch fire and the fire cannot be put out.

Solar panels do not last forever and must be replaced as the output drops over a period of around 25 years or so. Solar panels contain Silver, Aluminum, Copper, Glass, and other products that must be recovered.

Wind Generators seem perfect however at any give time maybe 30 percent (or more) have failed and need expensive repairs… they break down and are difficult, and expensive to repair. When you drive by a “wind Farm”, note how many wind generators are not operating.

Recycling is a must.

The problem with recycling is it is in many cases, difficult to do, and the cost of the process may be more than the value of the recovered material.

Another embarrassing problem with the electric automobile, the batteries don’t work in the Winter cold. Range is short and batteries will not charge. Electric cars are being abandoned on the highways. Try to convince these unfortunate motorist that this is due to global warming. Also, if the power grid goes down, your vehicle is down with it. Best keep a gas powered car as emergency transporation.

Oh, and the charging stations do not dispense free power, you must pay just like putting gasoline in your automobile. The politicians are not going to lose their cut (tax). Besides, nothing is free, always, somebody has to bare the cost.